A Writer’s Journal

Hop on over to Biblio Paradise and read the interview with Colin Galbraith.

Mik tagged me for 7 Random things about me. Um, hard to think of them, but here’s a shot:

1. I hate confrontation, but if you corner me, I turn into a feral cat. And I don’t mean a small one! More like, leopard-sized!

2. I hate the telephone. I have it off almost all the time. I have two half-hour periods a day when I return business calls, and I return other calls when I can, but I just hate the telephone. I pretty much use it only when I’m running late.

7. I’m much more of a winter gal than a summer one. I’ll take snow and ice over heat and humidity any day!

Hmm, who should I tag? Brandy, Girl-at-desk, Lori, Julia.

I had company stop by for a lunch visit yesterday, so I made roast pork with all the trimmings. Problem with that is, I was ready to nap all afternoon! But I didn’t. I got some admin work done, and went back to Tracking Medusa.

I also ordered a boatload of ink for the HP. According to the Staples website, one tank for this printer does 150 pages. WTF????? The Canon multi-pass did between 400-700 pages (I could always print more than a ream of paper on a single tank), and the Canon Baby Bubble did around 300. 150 pages is, like, a day in my printing life.

You can be sure I’ll compare the HP all-in-one capacities with Canon’s before I make my final decision. I just may stick with Canon after all! It never occurred to me that there would be such a MASSIVE difference in the ink capacity, especially since the HP tanks are bigger. And, frankly, I think the Canon print quality is better. Unfortunately, according to the reviews, the newer Canon models are ink hogs. So does that mean I should get my old Canon fixed? Spend the $100 and save several hundred a year on ink? This mathematically challenged human needs to sit down with pen, paper, and calculator and figure it out. But, from reading the various consumer reports, the machine I have is a higher quality and a higher print capacity than the newer models. So why fork out money for a new model that chugs ink?

And Iris, AKA Princess Hellion, has GOT to learn to leave the HP printer alone when it’s printing. I don’t know why it fascinates her so much – she always left the multi-pass alone. But she’s chasing the pages and sticking her paw in it and all of that. Elsa ruined an Epsom printer years ago by getting stuck in it when she was a kitten. She was just fine, although a little inky and she yelled a lot. The printer, however, was ruined. You can’t take your eyes off them for a second when there’s machinery going.

There’s something about reading a royalty statement that gets me all warm and fuzzy, even if there’s not an enormous check on its way. That’s all I’m saying.

I did a really nice chunk of work on the Tracking Medusa edit last night. I beefed up the Prologue. I expanded and detailed the first time Gwen and Justin meet, where she’s attacked outside the NY Public Library. I put the Harry’s funeral onstage, and created the dynamic between Gwen, Karl, and Jonathan. And I got to introduce Kitty – since it’s obvious later that she was in NY when Harry was killed, we might as well see her. I’ve given Tom Albright more to do. So it’s all good – the Prologue and the first two chapters, redone. Whew! And I love honing the language, fixing the structure, making it all polished and shiny. In spite of the hand-written notes on the actual manuscript, I find that, as I put in the changes, I’m delving even deeper into plot and story.

Decent morning’s work on Balthazaar. I have to stop and re-read the pirate research I did for Cutthroat Charlotte. It’s kind of cool to be able to use the same research with a completely different viewpoint for this.

Good morning’s work on Wyatt. The plot is taking an interesting twist. Wyatt seems to know what he’s doing, so I’m following along! I have the most basic outline of the story in my head, but no details, so I’m following Wyatt.

I hope that ink arrives soon – I’m halfway down the new ink tank I put in already.

Levi has the same fascination with my printer (a Canon). Soon as it starts up, his ears sharpen and he’s on the stalk. He likes to stick his paw in and try to catch the paper. He darn near crawled into it on Saturday! Caught him in time. Taffy, on the other hand, couldn’t care less. d:)

On January 18, 2008 at 5:48 pm Anne M said:

I don’t like the phone either, Caller ID is a wonderful thing. And I’ve tried getting that printer/ink cost ratio to work for me but I never know for sure.

I admire you being able to write on several stories at once. I wish I could.

I’ve never met anyone else who’s read Cherry Ames! When I was younger, she was my favorite series for about a year and a half. I would go to the library and read her over and over again. Not many libaries (well, that are near me, anyway) have her, though.

With regards to your printer, you’ve probably already tried this, but if you put the print setting on ‘quick draft’ rather than the regular setting, it uses less ink.

My kitty was always terrified of the printer, but he liked to chase the paper across the floor when I forgot to put the tray out. He would run after one and then flop down on it as if to say, ‘Here, I caught one for you!’

Oh, if you haven’t tried it, the ‘quick draft’ is much, much louder than the normal setting, so don’t worry! I jumped badly the first time I heard it – it truly sounds like my printer is murdering the paper.

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GWEN FINNEGAN MYSTERIES

Archaeologist Dr. Gwen Finnegan is on the hunt for her lover’s killer. Shy historical researcher Justin Yates, frustrated with his failing relationship, jumps at the chance to join her on a real adventure through Europe, pursued by factions including Gwen’s ex-lover and nemesis, Karl, as they try to unspool fact from fiction in a multi-generational obsession with a statue of the goddess Medusa.
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Stuck in NYC when plans for their next expedition fall through, Gwen and Justin accept teaching jobs at different local universities. Adjusting to their day-to-day relationship, and juggling the academic and emotional demands of their students, they are embroiled in two different, disturbing, paranormal situations that have more than one unusual crossing point. Can they work together to find the answers? Or are new temptations too much to resist? For whom are they willing to put their lives on the line? Available on multiple digital channels here.

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SAVASANA AT SEA

Yoga instructor Sophie Batchelder jumps at the chance to teach on a cruise ship when she loses her job and her boyfriend dumps her in the same day. But when her boss is murdered, and the crew thinks she's taking over her predecessor's blackmail scheme, Sophie must figure out who the real killer is -- before he turns her into a corpse, too. A Not-Quite-Cozy Mystery.
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COVENTINA CIRCLE ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

PLAYING THE ANGLES
Witchcraft, politics, and theatre collide as Morag D’Anneville and Secret Service agent Simon Keane fight to protect the Vice President of the United States -- or is it Morag who needs Simon’s protection more than the VP?
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THE SPIRIT REPOSITORY
Bonnie Chencko knows books change lives. But she never expected her life to change because she happened to duck into a small bookshop in Greenwich Village on a rainy late November night. She’s attracted to Rufus Van Dijk, the mysterious man who owns the bookshop in his ancestors’ building. A building filled with family ghosts, who are mysteriously disappearing. It’s up to Bonnie and her burgeoning Craft powers to rescue the spirits before their souls are lost forever. Buy Links here.

RELICS & REQUIEM
Amanda Breck’s complicated life gets more convoluted when she finds the body of Lena Morgan in Central Park, identical to Amanda’s dream. Detective Phineas Regan is one case away from retirement; the last thing he needs is a murder case tinged by the occult. The seeds of their attraction were planted months ago, when Phineas investigated an attack on Amanda’s friend Morag. Now, fate is determined to draw them close. But can they work together to stop a wily, vicious killer, or will the murderer destroy them both?
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THE JAIN LAZARUS ADVENTURES

Hex Breaker by Devon Ellington. A Jain Lazarus Adventure. Hex Breaker Jain Lazarus joins the crew of a cursed film, teaming with tough, practical Detective Wyatt East on an adventure fighting zombies, ceremonial magicians, the town wife-beater, the messenger of the gods, and their own pasts.
This series will re-release in 2020.
Visit the site for the Jain Lazarus adventures.</a

Full Circle: An Ars Concordia Anthology. Edited by Colin Galbraith. My story is “Pauvre Bob”, set at Arlington Race Track in Illinois is included in this wonderful collection of short stories and poetry. You can download it free here.